


they're coveralls

by orphan_account



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: M/M, ellis thinks nick is awesome B-), implied nellis kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:25:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellis just wanted him to feel like a part of the team, like all the patching up and shooting and just plain protecting was doing people some good. The other two didn’t seem particularly keen on giving Nick anything like that, and Ellis always did consider himself the guy with all the mad charm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	they're coveralls

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for my friend jordan (deerdweeb on tumblr)
> 
> i was trying my hand out at some l4d characterization and THIS happened! its kinda short but ive got something VERY interesting planned!!!

                The more Ellis thought about it, the less realistic it became. That’s usually how it was with the stuff he thought about—case in point, Kieth, the fate of whom was up to anyone’s imagination—it turned to shit all too quickly. And so, the more he thought about this, he told himself, the worse off he’d be.

                ‘This’, of course, being Nick. Never in his life had he ever wanted to impress someone as much as Nick. He’d even consulted Rochelle and Coach about it, neither of whom had been willing to dish out any advice, jovial or otherwise. Coach had replied, with a laugh, that there was “no hope in gettin’ to that boy”, while Rochelle mostly just wanted to know why he wanted to be Nick’s friend in the first place. The answer was obvious; Ellis just wanted him to feel like a part of the team, like all the patching up and shooting and just plain protecting was doing people some good. The other two didn’t seem particularly keen on giving Nick anything like that, and Ellis always did consider himself the guy with all the mad charm. Not that Rochelle didn’t have charm. Which she did. But maybe just not to Nick.

                Anyway, all this thinking was really throwing off Ellis’ groove, so he shook himself awake in the dim light of the safehouse. He was positioned under the table that had previously held what, in Coach’s words, were ‘metric shittons’ of medical supplies, enough to get them where they needed to go probably. Speaking of Coach, he was sitting near the door with his gun in his hands, ready to shoot anything that threatened their relaxation. Rochelle was curled up near him, next on watch duty, having a little snooze. And, of course, there was Nick, trying to get a blood-stained cigarette to light with what remained of the lighter in his pocket. Ellis watched for a while with an amused grin before Nick noticed, tossing the lighter in Ellis’ direction with a sneer.

                “You think you can do any better, _partner_?” he spat.

                Ellis nodded and shimmied from under the table, striding over to Nick with what he could only describe as cool confidence, born and raised. From the pocket of his coveralls he produced a matchbox that contained three matches, thrusting it forward into Nick’s face. Nick rolled his eyes and lit his cigarette with a sour look to his face, passing the matchbox back to Ellis when he finished and taking a long drag from his now-properly-lit cigarette. Man, he was so _cool_.

                “Oh, I’m cool, huh?” Nick bemused, raising one eyebrow and leaning against the wall he was standing near. Damn that guy, so cool and shit.

                “Wuh—are you a mindreader now?” Ellis asked, delirious from a combination lack of sleep and lack of something to spice up this monotony they were all living in.

                “No, overalls, you’re talking to yourself.”

                Ellis huffed, a little indignant. “They’re coveralls,” he said, matter of fact, which set both Nick and Coach into a laughing fit. Ellis grinned a little and punched Nick’s shoulder lightly, leaning back against the wall with him.

                “You know, _coveralls_ , you’re not so bad.” Nick said after a long time of watching Rochelle’s shoulders rise and fall. “At least, not when you’re too tired to tell a story about whoever-the-fuck.”

                Ellis’s eyebrows shot to the sky and his eyes lit up; he turned to Nick with an almost fervor, licking his lips to prepare for something. “Hey, man, speakin’ of Keith, do you remember when we had to go through that field of witches? Well—listen, don’t give me that look!—well, Keith and I had to do that once! Except the field was full of super duper pissed off girls from a sleepover that we had stinkbombed! Hoo boy! I’ve never _seen_ girls swarm Keith like moths before. Not that I’ve seen girls swarm anyone like moths before, except maybe zombie girls. And that’s somethin’ I’d never wish on anyone, especially not Keith! And then there was the time that—”

                Nick snorted and held up a hand, effectively cutting him off. “Do you tend not to take breaths before talking?”

                “Oh, uh, was I not breathin’?”

                “I don’t know, were you?” Nick asked, running a hand through his hair and sighing. “Christ, Ellis, sometime I have no clue what’s going on in that fat head of yours. And I’m starting to think you don’t either.”

                Shit, shit. This wasn’t going the way he had planned. He had to be cool. He had to be the cool guy. Mr. Freeze. Iceman. “Well, I do.” Killer. That would make Nick beg at his feet to be friends, surely.

                “Yeah, uh, anyway...I better be gettin’ some shuteye, and you better be too! Mornin’ comes mighty early for those who stay up!” He crawled back into the space between the table and the floor and tipped his hat in Nick’s direction. “Good night, sir!”

                “Sure. Good night, ace.” _Damn. Nick was cool._


End file.
